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Free in Amsterdam with, 1970. Left to right: Winwood,.Background informationOriginLondon, EnglandGenres,Years active1968 ( 1968)–1973Labels,Associated acts, AardvarkWebsitePast membersWendell RichardsonFree were an English rock band formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song '. They disbanded in 1973; lead singer went on to become the frontman of the band, which also featured his Free bandmate on drums. Lead guitarist formed in 1975, but died from a at the age of 25 in 1976.
Bassist formed.Free became renowned for their live shows and non-stop touring. However, their studio albums did not sell very well until their third, featured the massive hit 'All Right Now'.
The song helped secure them a place at the, where they played to 600,000 people. In the early 1970s Free became one of the biggest-selling British groups; by the time they disbanded, they had sold more than 20 million albums around the world and had played more than 700 arena and festival concerts. 'All Right Now' remains a rock staple, and has been entered in 's 'One Million' airplay singles club.has referred to the band as 'British pioneers'. The magazine ranked Rodgers No. 55 in its list of the '100 Greatest Singers of All Time', while Kossoff was ranked No. 51 in its list of the '. Free were signed to in the UK and in North America. Both labels became part of the group in 1989, then (UMG) in 1998; UMG now controls the band's catalogue worldwide. Contents.History Formation, early years and breakthrough Most remarkable about the birth of Free was the youth of the band members who came together to rehearse and play their first gig on the evening of 19 April 1968 at the Nag's Head pub, which was at the junction of York Road and Plough Road in, London.
Bass player was 15 years old, lead guitarist was 17, and both lead singer and drummer were 18. By November of that year, having been given the name Free by, they had recorded their first album, titled, for and, although it was not released until the following year, the album documents their first six months together and contains studio renditions of much of their early live set.
To promote their forthcoming debut album they also opened some gigs at the end of 1968 for The Who, who played a short theatre tour with Arthur Brown.Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke first became friends in the R&B band, but they wanted to move on. Paul Kossoff saw vocalist Paul Rodgers singing with while visiting the Fickle Pickle, an R&B club in London's. He was immediately impressed and asked if he could jam with Rodgers onstage. Along with Kirke, they began the search for a fourth member.
Recommended Andy Fraser to the band; at the age of 15, Fraser had already been playing with. Korner also provided the name 'Free' to the newly formed band.Unlike their previous albums, Tons of Sobs and Free, their album, released in 1970, was a huge success largely due to its hit single ', which reached No. 1 on the UK rock music charts, No. 2 on the and No. 4 on the US chart. The album reached No. 2 in the UK charts and No. 17 on the U.S charts, making it the most successful Free album. 'All Right Now' became a No. 1 hit in over 20 and was recognised by (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) in 1990 for garnering 1,000,000 plus radio plays in the US by late 1989. In 2000 an award was given to Paul Rodgers by the when 'All Right Now' passed 2,000,000 radio plays in the UK.was their fourth studio album, recorded extremely quickly in September 1970. Highway performed poorly in the charts, reaching No. 41 in the UK and No. 190 in the US. First break-up, reformation, and final break-up In 1971, due to differences between singer Paul Rodgers and bassist Andy Fraser, where Rodgers felt he wasn't being listened to, the band disbanded.
This led to the release of the live album called. In early 1972 the band set aside their differences and reformed in an effort to save Kossoff from his growing drug addiction, and released in June of the same year.Fraser left the band in mid-1972 due to Kossoff's unreliability at being able to perform at shows or even at showing up. The remaining members recruited Japanese bass player and keyboardist, who had worked with Kossoff and Kirke during Free's initial split, recording and recorded what would be Free's final album,. Kossoff was replaced by ex- guitarist Wendell Richardson for a USA tour in 1973, but shortly thereafter Free disbanded for good. Rodgers and Kirke went on to form that same year, Fraser to form the band and later the Andy Fraser Band, and Kossoff the band.
After Free With Kossoff in better health again in late 1975, he was delighted that ex-colleagues Rodgers and Kirke asked him to join them on stage for two nights. A British tour was set to begin on 25 April 1976 with Back Street Crawler headlining with Bad Company in support of Back Street Crawler's second album, but again Kossoff's drug addictions contributed to a drastic decline in the guitarist's health. On a flight from Los Angeles to New York City on 19 March 1976, Paul Kossoff died from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 25.After parting with Bad Company in 1982, Rodgers went on to explore the heavy blues stylings of Free again in his solo career during the 1980s and 1990s, and in the bands. Subsequently he teamed up as vocalist with two of the three remaining members of ( and ). In September 2008, Queen + Paul Rodgers released their first studio album. Rodgers also performed Free and Bad Company songs whilst on tour with Queen, in addition to the traditional Queen songs and new cuts from their most recently released album.Rodgers and Kirke toured again with Bad Company from 2012 to 2016. Andy Fraser died on 16 March 2015.
In 2017, Paul Rodgers embarked on a Free Spirit UK Tour in May 2017 to celebrate the music of Free by performing songs strictly from the Free catalogue. Personnel Members. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
Archived from on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014. ^. Retrieved 21 July 2014. Joe Viglione.
Retrieved 21 July 2014. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
Nick Talevski (7 April 2010). Omnibus Press. P. 348. Pete Prown; Harvey P. Newquist (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists.
Hal Leonard Corporation. Pp. 76–. John Tobler (1991). Crescent Books.
Retrieved 18 April 2014. Living Legends Music. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011. ^. Rolling Stone.
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Wandsworth Heritage Centre. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
Retrieved 20 October 2011. 17 December 1949. Retrieved 21 July 2014. Archived from on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014. Archived from on 17 April 2014.
Retrieved 21 July 2014. James Chrispell (20 November 2007). Retrieved 21 July 2014. ^. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
Retrieved 21 July 2014. Back Street Crawler. Retrieved 21 July 2014. Artist Biography by Greg Prato. Retrieved 21 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
Retrieved 25 August 2015.External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to.
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